


Time After Time

by williamastankova



Category: Wizards of Waverly Place
Genre: Carpet Flying, F/M, Future Fic, Grief/Mourning, Humour, Incest, Jalex - Freeform, Romance, learning to love again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-07-01 01:47:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15764097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/williamastankova/pseuds/williamastankova
Summary: They're all grown up: Alex has had her painting breakthrough, Justin is the headmaster of WizTech, and Max has whipped the diner into shape. Now, after the loss of their parents, it's up to Justin and Alex to come home, to help Max out with the Sub Station. What will ensue, as they talk through their pain and let their long-established walls come crumbling down, once and for all?





	Time After Time

**Author's Note:**

> I used to watch this show as a tot and have recently fell back in love with it, so I thought it'd be nice to revisit and take it how I think it'd be for them, coming back to Waverly Place after so many years.  
> Hope you enjoy!

Alex stepped through the door and stopped, then breathed in deeply, letting in the familiar air. It had been too long since she'd stepped foot in her family's sub shop, and now that she had, she felt fifteen again. She felt phantom hair fall down her back, and it was as though her father would pop his head out of the back room at any moment, demanding that she come back there, to undoubtedly be told off for one of her misadventures. She smiled sadly, remembering when that would have been the case, then turned on her heels to scan the rest of the restaurant.

In the years since he inherited it, Max had actually done a pretty good job. It looked vaguely similar to how it had all those years ago, except newer. He had kept up with the times, and had clearly taken in customer opinons, because every single person she looked at had a smile on their faces. It was contagious. She shifted her eyes to the cash register, where she - sure enough - found her little brother, now not so little, tapping away, adding up somebody's order. She headed straight for him, coming to stop behind the people paying. Once they were gone, she grinned widely at him, then dropped her bags and threw up her arms.  
"Alex!" He called out, matching her smile with one of his own, "It's good to see you."

When she looked at him, she couldn't help but see their mom. It was hard not to, with his caramel curls and dark eyes. Out of the three of them, he definitely took after her most - it didn't matter Alex was the only girl. When he was around the counter, she brought her arms to rest on his shoulders, then she squeezed him tightly.  
"I've missed you."

Her past self might have feigned vomiting if she heard her say that, but it didn't really matter. The past her was juvenile, and, while hilariously funny, she didn't know how to appreciate things like her weird little brother or her overprotective parents, until they were gone. She sighed into his hair, releasing his neck and bringing her hands to rest on his shoulders. She felt old, noticing how her arms were slanted upwards as she did so, taking in the sheer size of him. He had to have been, what, twenty four now?  
"You're looking healthy." She nodded approvingly, "Not living on orange soda any more, I presume?"  
Max smiled wider at her, his dimples digging deep into his cheeks; some things never changed. "Nope. I went to the dentist, and she told me off. Won't be doing that again."

She giggled, feeling at home already, then span around and said, "I like what you've done with the place. We've actually got happy customers, and it's not even lunch time."  
"Well, thanks, Alex!" He strode to the nearest table that a couple had just vacated, and pulled out a cleaning rag she hadn't noticed in his hand, then began wiping it down. "I wanted to keep some of the old furniture - you know, for old time's sake." His smile faltered only slightly, and Alex nodded, knowing what he meant.  
"They'd love it, Maxy." She ruffled his hair, then looked back at the register, where two new customers had begun to form a queue. "Oh, I'll let you get back to work. We'll talk later, yeah?"  
"Yeah, sure." He nodded to her, then rushed off behind the counter, nattering to the couple about something Alex had no idea about. She had missed this place, more than she'd let herself think. It was good to be home.

Picking up her bags swiftly, she slipped upstairs, and into her old bedroom. Yep, there were her pink furry walls, still as they were on the day she left for art school. She set down her bags, telling herself she'd unpack later (but she probably wouldn't), and nipped to the bathroom. There, she quickly fixed her hair and smoothed out her shirt where it had been ruffled by the bag across her chest. The journey home had been fairly okay, but the long subway ride always took it out of her (she would have teleported, but she was feeling particularly nostalgic, and wanted to sightsee her old hangouts on the way, as opposed to just popping in and out). She was grateful for the option now to lie down and nap until the shop closed, but there was something she had to do first. Someone she had to see.

Assuming he was already back, she figured he'd be in one of two places: his room, or their parents. She tried the former first, and sure enough, he was laying on his back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling with dazed eyes. She pitied him, really, because he had further to come and more to leave behind, but then again he had probably just apparated there, or used the door in the lair for the quickest way home. Only somewhat unlike her old self, once she saw him, she broke into a short-lived sprint, yelling for the duration of time it took to arrive to him.  
"Justin!"

He looked up, a bit out of it at first, but then perked up, stood, and enveloped Alex in his arms. He still smelled the same.  
"Alex," he said, voice much calmer than hers, but no less excited. He pulled back, and she got to see him properly for the first time.

He looked, facially, much the same (obviously), with his cool eyes still dancing with the intelligence hidden behind them, but he looked older. Not old-old, like a grandpa, but she could tell he'd been stressed. For reasons she could only imagine (trying to control the students, planning how he could return here without the school going to hell and back, and... the other thing). His raven hair had more than a few flecks of silver in it now, but it looked good; he was well on his way to looking like the masterful head master he already was. His physique was also similar to as it had been, but he seemed to have an ache in his back for some reason. She didn't dwell on it, because he started speaking, and she had been trying to listen to people more recently - a way to combat the primary thing her parents always scolded her for.  
"How are you? How's your art going?" He looked all over her face, apparently mapping it as she had been doing to his mere seconds ago.

"Good! I'm good; it's good," she said, honestly but not very detailed because she was more interested in his endeavours, "What about you? How's WizTech going?"  
"Ah, you know," he put on his modest voice, "it's alright. It hadn't been burned down yet, and there's been no plastic ball infestation since the last time, so I'd say it's pretty okay."  
She smiled widely at him, realising he was still the goofy dork she had grown up alongside, and couldn't help herself reaching out once more to wrap her arms around his neck, curling the rest of her body into his chest. Automatically, his hands overlapped behind her back, and they sat silently, hugging out everything they had so desperately needed to since their last meeting.

Alex took the time to think about what had happened. She felt able to be brave - to confront the scariest of thoughts, like she had been unable to do properly since the occurence. She remembered back to when they had been told: she was half done with one of her favourite paintings, and her phone started ringing. Quickly, she wiped off her hands (she did often subconsciously dip her fingers in the paint and doodle with them, no matter what her professor had said about it being a bad method) and swiped to answer the call. Unexpectantly, she answered as she would have any random call, but then panic set in when she heard the voice on the other end saying, 'Alexandra Russo?', because nobody ever called her that. Nobody, not even her grandmother who disrespected just about any nicknames you requested to be called, called her that, which meant it wasn't somebody she knew. That was when she was told - they were gone. Not from some freaky magical scenario, nor from any sudden health condition. They were just... gone. Their car had to be towed away, after being hit by a swerving vehicle, driven by somebody who was even sober. She had turned off the phone and lay in her bed for a week after that, until the day of the joint funerals. She cried longer than she ever had.

Feeling the tears in her eyes already, she shut off that train of thought, deciding she had been brave enough for today. Besides, that was like five years ago or something (not like the thought about it every night, on the days it wasn't constantly. Who was she kidding, she would never forget it), and life had gone on. For example, she had sold her first massive piece. Sure, she had made money from her paintings before, certainly enough to keep her going, but this time the right person happened to see it at the right time, and they bought it to put on display in some artsy-fartsy show that was in town for a week or so. It was pretty cool, and it would have been even cooler had it not also been the week she and Mason broke up. It wasn't really over anything major. No one was screaming and shouting, ranting and raving, firing spells or ripping out throats. It was quite the contrary: simply, they had grown apart. Not living near each other anymore had gotten to the relationship, and it was time for it to end. Regardless, none of that really mattered, because Justin was rubbing soothing circles on her back, and she was back to reality.

Reluctantly, she pulled away from him, steadied herself on her own two feet, and put on a smile that was real, and only a pinch forced.  
"It's nice to have you back." Her voice broke, and she saw he registered it, but was thankful he didn't point it out. "Even if you're a bit of a loser still."

He grinned at her, then rolled his eyes. "Nice to see you too, Alex." He put his hands behind his back, then continued, "Well, you'd better get used to my being a loser, because we're here for six weeks."  
She groaned. "Six weeks? With you?" (As if she didn't already know.) "Maybe I'll manage to convince Max to not go travelling, so he can stay here and distract you."  
"Oh, that's a conversation I'd like to see." The tone in his voice told her they were right back where they had been, nearly a decade ago now. "'Hey Max, can you not go on that once-of-a-lifetime holiday to half a dozen different countries, visiting both mortal and wizard locations? Justin is  _really_  annoying.'" He scoffed, and she couldn't hold in her laughter anymore.

Throwing herself back at him, she laughed as a pile in his arms. She eventually settled her chin on his shoulder, then spoke:  
"I've really missed this place."

**

They met up later on with Max in the lair. At first, it was all pleasantries - ('how are you? how is _x, y, z_?) - but then they all sat down, took in the room, then began really talking like themselves.

"Hey, Max, remember Maximan?" Alex barely managed to finish her sentence before she burst into laughter, because it was frankly one of the silliest things they had all fallen for.  
"Hey, not funny!" Max teased back, not concealing a grin of his own, "I couldn't walk right for a week with how tight that suit was."

Justin chirped in, "What about Tutor? She was _pretty_." He did one of those far-away looks he always did when he thought about somebody attractive, and Alex threw a pillow at his head playfully.  
"Ew, Justin!" She was rather proud of herself with how convincingly disgusted she sounded - it was an art she had perfected. "Stop doing that. You're like thirty, it's weird."  
"She was forty!"  
Alex snorted, incredulously, then looked to Max, imploring him with a look to be on her side. To her dismay, he shrugged, adding, "What? She was cute."

"Okay, you know what-"  
Before she could leave, Justin grasped her wrist, weakly pinning her to the chair. "Oooh, Alex is _jealous_!"  
"I'm not jealous," she said, and she believed it, "I'm just not comfortable dying, drowning in your guys' drool."  
Justin scoffed at her, "Yeah, well, you're not the only pretty girl in the world!"  
She stopped, calculating in her head for the first time in her life, then smiled at him. "I'm pretty?"

His own grin fell, and he looked to Max a little awkwardly, who thankfully picked up the conversation with, "Remember Dragon?"  
"Uh, yeah I remember Dragon." Justin replied, still not releasing Alex, who then resigned and plonked herself back in her seat, crossing her legs beneath her as she did so. "I remember when he burnt Mom's plants on the terrace, and we watched her chase him around, shouting in Spanish, for a good half hour before he gave up and let her scold him."  
Max barked out a laugh, unintentionally, "I think he was more afraid of her. And he was the one who could breathe fire!"  
Alex laughed, back in the conversation and out of her own head as Justin said, "Well, I'm not too convince she couldn't. I mean, whew!" He released Alex's wrist to mime fanning himself, pretending to have been charred.

Max divulged into a fit of giggles, sinking deeper into Dad's chair as he did so, and it was as though Alex could see the old him again. There he was, sitting in the forbidden seat belonging to their father, laughing away to himself, never really in any one room at any one time, but always enjoying himself nonetheless. It lasted just long enough for Alex to miss it, and then he was a man again, but still the same somehow.  
"Boy, I really don't miss magic that much," he admitted, teeth still bared with his smile, "The trouble I'd get into if I still had my powers..."

He pondered upon it for a moment, eyes falling to the corner of the room, giving Alex and Justin time to exchange a glance and for him to mouth, 'thank God', because, really, they didn't need to worry about him anymore. Max loved the sub shop, and all of its customers, as evident by the twinkle in his eye when he talked about it. With magic, he probably would have been influenced too much by teen-Alex (and, frankly, even sometimes now-Alex) and ended up with it in ashes on the ground. He had done well without it, Alex had to give it to him, and she was proud of him. They were, too, she was sure.

**

A few hours later, Max announced his leave to bed. He was leaving semi-early in the morning the following day, so he needed to make sure he had enough time to sleep in so he felt well-rested enough to get to the airport. That meant Alex and Justin were now officially in charge, which was probably more daunting to her than it should have been. Nevertheless, they bid him goodnight, and watched him leave before turning back to each other.

By this time, Alex had brought over a table to rest her legs on, to save Justin the trouble (and, later, ache) of cramping up beside her legs on the couch, which was just about the nicest thing she'd done for him, in their years of knowing each other. A somewhat sad thought, but also a sadistically amusing one. The corner of her mouth tugged up a little, but when she realised she'd have to formulate an alibi if he caught her, she made herself stop. Self control had never been her strong suit, but she was working on it. He looked over at her, looking unaware, and smiled. It was good to have had such a long day, spent almost constantly like that.

"You want a drink?" He asked.  
She shrugged, then readjusted her pillow when she felt it fall behind her head. "Sure."  
With a click of his fingers, he had two different-coloured glasses of what smelled like alcohol and, sure enough, tasted like alcohol. Thank God he'd finally admitted to himself she could drink, because she couldn't have drank orange juice or water at that moment.

They sipped quietly for a moment, then Alex broke the silence. "Let's have a look in some of the old spellbooks."  
"Oh no." He said, sounding both sincerely and jokingly nervous, in a way only he could manage. "Why?"  
Rolling her eyes at him, she stood and explained, "It'll be fun. C'mon, Justin."

She didn't have to wait long before she heard him slip off of the couch and walk over to stand behind her as she browsed the shelf of magic books. Reading over a few of the titles, she settled on one called, 'Morgan Le Fay's Magical Misguide', which she wasn't too sure made all that much sense as a title, but then who was she to say anything about sense? Besides, 'misguide' made it sound exhilerating, at least to her.

Drawing it from the shelf, she wiped off the dust and flipped it open, and was soon hit with a sudden blast of an even mix of ancient skin cells and moth wings, which come shooting from the paper. Not before spitting out anything that accidentally slipped into her mouth, she murmurs, "Well, this better be worth it now", and starts skimming down the page. Mainly, the spells are boring, household charms (seriously, who would even use a book that only tells you how to make it so your shower never goes cold? Justin, probably, who she shoots a sneaky look at over her shoulder, past her dusty hair). If she's being honest (which she's been trying out lately, though it's less fun than the alternative), it makes no sense why the book has such an interesting name if it insists on being so boring, but then she comes across something she finds she'd want to try.

"Ooh, Justin! Look at this one," She calls out, even though he can probably see exactly what she's looking at, seeing as she points at everything she reads. She pulls out her wand from her boot and reads, " _Scorello Opponiato"_ , making sure her wand remains focused at Justin at all times.

At first, nothing happens. There's a soft purple stream erupting from the end of her wand, but that's about it. When it ends, she's frustrated. She's about to call it a dud and throw the book closed, then sit back down in a huff when Justin starts floating. It's not like the anti-gravity spell they used on Max, because he's got gravity... sort of. It's hard to explain, but Alex isn't too bothered about describing it as she watches her brother float off, looking panicked at first, but then happier as he starts swimming in mid-air. He laughs, which runs through Alex, and says, "This is so cool!"

She takes a moment more to watch him enjoy himself, but then drops her gaze to the book once more. So, okay, it's not entirely a lost cause. In fact, it takes even less time for her to find the next one, and she gives Justin no warning before she's uttering, " _Asaila Gemela_ " and he's tumbling to the ground, luckily from a not-too-high height. He lands, safely enough, just in time to see the pink sparkles come from her wand, and surprisingly half of them turn back around to hit her. They don't hurt, though, only tickle lightly, in a way that's pleasant but not so intense as to send her into a laughing fit again. He seems to feel the same, and then they stop. Once again, it seems to disappoint, but then Justin opens his mouth, and he realises it has worked after all.  
"Alex," he begins, then looks terrified as he claws at his throat, trying to see if a tiny Alex is hiding in there, making his vocals hers. "What did you do?"

It feels strange to her that she's essentially listening to herself ask her a question, but whatever. She gets over it soon enough, then can't stop her beaming smile as she answers, in Justin's voice, "Voice reversal spell. Takes the nearest two people and swaps their voices, for about a minute."  
"You mean that I-" it amuses Alex how afraid he seems of sounding like her. In her opinion, it's an improvement. "This is- for a minu-" He stops speaking altogether, apparently deciding to wait it out as opposed to listen to Alex more than he has to already. Fifty or so seconds go by, and he opens his mouth again. "I-" Nope, it's still her. He looks impatient, crossing his arms and tapping his foot; even he picked up some of their Mom's habits. He sighs, which is enough to hear the deeper tone of his voice, and he tests this theory by saying, "Alex."

He's back. Boring.

She shifts back, looking into the book again. She turns a few pages, not impressed once more (a characteristic she doubts she'll ever be able to change is her appetite for constant entertainment), and she becomes so engrossed in reading about spells from her own book that she doesn't see Justin slip one of his own from the shelf, open it, then grin wickedly to himself. Before she has time to react, he raises his want, pointing it at her, and shouts, " _Stagnitis Morrelum!_ "

She goes to stop him, but she can't. Oh no, wait a second, she can, but only very, very slowly. With what must be the slowest eye roll every in history, she displays her annoyance to him, and he looks rather proud of himself. For a good ten seconds she sees her hair flipping with the speed of a snail, but within another five she's back in normal time, tackling Justin to the floor and jabbing him in the sides, which she knows he finds uncomfortable after an extended period of time.  
"You're such a douche!"

"Come on," he's laughing, but there's pain in his face, "It was worth it."  
"Oh, you're so going to pay for this..." She says darkly, stopping her attack and glaring down at him, enjoying watching his face fall because he knows that _yes, he probably will pay for it, about a hundred times over_. She considers her next action only for a second, but then she's rolled off of Justin so only their legs are touching lightly, and reaching over for the book and, without reading any of the descriptions or side effects of the spells on the page, she points her wand at him and says the first word she sees, which happen to be:  
" _Morphior!_ "

Unlike the last few times, she notices immediately what it does. She doesn't even have to read the smallprint to know it's a binding spell, but not one that she's used to, and certainly not one she's cast herself. The feeling of a vacuum-like sucking on her leg is something she's incapable of ignoring, so she looks at it, and almost screams the house down when she sees that she and Justin have become literally fused together, starting at the hip then ending just above the knee. She refrains from touching him anywhere else, through fear of them becoming even more intertwined, and she begins to panic.

"What did you do?!" Justin yells, unafraid of waking Max and the rest of their sleeping neighbours, spanning down the street.  
"I don't know!" She yells back, feeling helpless. Shouldn't he know how to fix it?  
He looks frantically between their leg (yes, now it's _their_  leg) and his little sister. As much as he wants to be the cool, calm, collected one, he physically can't do that, because they're freaking one entity right now, and that's not something he went to school for, nor did he even think could happen in real life. Justin, knowing full well he was the smartest one present (and also knowing Alex, though she might not vocally concur, agreed with him), then began flipping out, rubbing his face and trying to pull them apart as a last, not well thought out last resort.  
"Ow!" Alex proclaims, letting him know that _h_ _urt_ , but also that she kind of deserved it. After all, they were quite literally stuck together, and it was more than her fault.

Justin didn't respond, only held onto her torso with a vice-like grip and tugged her to her feet, and then he allowed himself to think coherently, and aloud.  
"Okay," he began, trying to take the most logical route, as always, "Maybe it's like the other spells. Maybe it'll wear off. Let's just wait a couple of minutes."

A couple of minutes waiting later, they were still fused at the thigh.  
"Or maybe not." Alex said, loud enough to satisfy her need to vent through means of snide comments, but only just verging on loud enough for Justin to feel a burn of anger start in his oesophagus.

Yeah, this was going to be a long, long night.

**

That night, they had figured they'd have to just give up and settle in for the night. Though sleep wasn't easy, it was easier sleeping in Alex's double bed than it would have been to tear themselves apart and sleep separately, so they let themselves have that much. It wasn't enough that they had to share the bed, no, because they'd near enough forgotten about Max's early rise, so when he came looking for them individually and found them both in Alex's bed, Justin (the only one awake, as his sister somehow managed to sleep soundly beside him, spreading as far away from him as their predicament would allow) had to think off of the top of his head, making up something that wouldn't concern Max enough that he might consider missing his flight to stay behind and help them fix it.

"Bad dream," he grinned up at his brother, mouth tight as leather as he lied, "She let me sleep in here."  
Somehow this managed to convince a sleep-deprived Max, who squinted at him only slightly after hearing the truth that made no sense because none of it was true, then said, "Oh, alright, cool. Two stones and one bird!" He pumped his fist lazily in the air, then stifled a yawn.

Justin, too tired to even care at his horrible misinterpretation of the idiom at this point, simply pumped his fist back at him, like it was a team thing, and said, "Go! Have fun. I'll tell her you said bye." He nodded down to their sister, who was now ironically drooling herself, right onto her nice pillow. What a shame.  
"Thanks, Justin." Max said, then readjusted the suitcase he was dragging behind him, "Bye!"

Then he was out of the doorway, and down the stairs, then out of the building altogether.  
_Well,_  Justin thought,  _At least there's that problem out of the way._ as if Max was the biggest of their problems right now.

Speaking of problems, the most prevalent one now might also be gone. He hoped he could pull his leg now, and their nightmare would be over. Maybe, after all, they had just got a bit too drunk, and had freakishly imagined the same thing - that their legs were 'stuck together' - at the same time. He gave his leg a tug, and-

And it wasn't a nightmare. Still, though not the intended reaction, this action served a purpose, as the girl beside him groaned and jerked away from her sleep.  
"Jus-tin!" She emphasised both syllables of his name, shot him a dirty look, and burrowed back into her pillows, apparently not caring that the one the dug her hair into was covered in saliva.

 _Gross,_  he thought, but let himself snuggle back into the covers. After all, if she wasn't getting up, neither was he.

**

He woke up with a shock, to his usual alarm which he had forgotten to turn off before coming home. Nonchalantly, he turned over (rotating only his waist, because his legs were preoccupied, as he remembered) and shut it off, but then realised he set that time for his usual day, not to the work day of the sub shop. Even with blurry vision, he could make out the numbers 10:00am, and he shot straight up.  
"Alex!" He repeatedly hit the duvet next to him, where he knew his sister was sleeping, "Alex, get up!"

"Why?" Even her groggy voice was aggravated at having to wake up before noon on a weekend. "Is the house on fire?"  
"We have to open up the shop in less than an hour," he explained, voice frantic, "And in case you forgot, I can't do anything without you."  
"Ughhhh."  
"Come on, Alex." He took to shaking her now, growing increasingly desperate to get her up and ready, "I know how long it takes you to get dressed in the morning."  
She sat up abruptly, then said, voice venemous, "What are we going to go, Justin?" She threw the blanket down, revealing their legs, still dressed in what they had been the previous day, seeing as they hadn't had any other clothes tailored to fit their now-peculiar body shape. "We can't serve like this."  
Justin thought about it for a moment, but then his sense of duty overtook anything and everything else within him. "Well, we'll have to figure something out. Max has worked too hard for us to let him down on day one; he's got a load of customers that come every day."  
"Why do I care?" She said, rather selfishly, but he knew that's how she was in the mornings, and a good portion of the time she was fully awake too. "We'll just tell them some lie, about why we couldn't open today."  
"Alex," his voice went sad, which drew her attention in. He didn't mean to guilt trip her, but she'd lead him to the _truth_  - the truth of why he was so determined to get up, not just for Max. "Mom and Dad worked too hard for us to let them down like this." He saw the glisten in her eye, which meant she was about to shut off, which he couldn't have. "We did this, and we'll fix it. But right now, we need to get ready, because it's lunchtime soon, which means orders."

She took a moment to think over everything he had said. He was right, in almost everything, as always: Max had worked too hard for it, as had their parents. However, she couldn't help but dwell for a little while on the last thing he said: _we did this_. We? Did he think this was his fault, too? Well, right now, Alex was determined to do the good thing, like she had avoided doing for so long. She nodded, then threw the covers to the end of her bed, where they fell in a heap, but she didn't care. She could fix that later, but it was time to get up now. It was time to face the world.

Empowered by her little inner monologue, she rose boldly, but happened to do so at the same time as Justin, who went to roll the opposite way to her, resulting in them both yelling, and her empowerment crashing and burning.  
"We're going to have to take today slowly."

**

Justin checked the time on the clock on the wall and clicked his fingers, which flipped the sign on the door, signifying it was time people came in to get their meals. As he did so, Alex's stomach dropped. It wasn't as though she cared what people thought of her, after all, because she didn't. Or was that what she wanted people to think of her? This was too much for 11:00 in the morning on a Saturday. She rewired her brain quickly so she couldn't think about other people; it was easier this way, at least for the time being, while they were conjoined.

Sure enough, with Max's notoriously good management, the first customers started pouring in within minutes. Alex took to hiding just behind Justin, so she could still see but their condition wasn't immediately obvious. She smiled at people when they walked in, but then they realised they'd actually have to start moving soon, and she felt ill again. When they noticed the first man put his menu down and start twiddling his thumbs, clearly awaiting assistance, she gulped, looked to Justin who she found already looking down at her, and nodded. Like a soldier.

They shuffled, starting tortoise-slow at first, then gaining a little confidence as they neared the table. Justin signified to her that he'd talk to the man, but handed the pad and pen to her, so when he leaned forward to listen to the man she stood behind him and jotted down what he said. Once he finished, Justin told him it'd be a short while, and they began moving back over to the counter, but Alex's shoe caught on something (yeah, something was definitely there) on the floor, and they came tumbling down.  
_Perfect,_  she thought, _Of course it'd be me._

As they struggled to stand back up, she knew people were beginning to stare, so she decided on her forever-fall-back plan: humour.  
"Don't worry, people!" She announced, and could hear Justin's breath catch in his throat. "We're okay. Just a minor scrape! It's so strange, you know, you'd think after all these years of us being Siamese twins, we'd learn--"  
"ALEX!" Justin sounded too similar to their father as he shouted her name, and she stopped dead in her words. She pouted and looked at him, and he said, "Kitchen. Now."  
Still in joker mode, she said, "It's not like I'd be able to refuse if you had your heart set on it." She jiggled their leg, then started laughing to herself. Nobody joined her, least of all Justin, so she mumbled, "Tough crowd."

Not risking her saying another word, Justin just about picked her up, wrapping his arm around her waist, and carried her off to the kitchen. Once the door had swung shut behind them, Justin turned his head to look at her, their faces uncomfortably close, his eyes bulging from their sockets.  
"This. Is. Not. Funny."

Out of nowhere, her defensive side took over, and she retorted, "Well it wasn't my idea to open up the shop while our legs are stuck together!"  
"It wasn't my idea for you to shoot that stupid spell at us that got us in this mess, but it's too late for me to complain about that now, isn't it?" He hissed, then moved his face back and tried to regain his composure. He tried speakingly nicely, "Alex, I don't mean to take my anger out on you, but this is a bad situation. I think we both know that, but it'd go a lot smoother if you'd just play along."  
She rolled her eyes at him. "You're not my dad."

He stopped breathing momentarily, and she realised what she'd said. A pang of guilt ran through her - she knew how much losing both of her parents had meant to Justin, but especially their dad. After all, he was Justin's first male role model, his sports coach, and he always tried to encourage Justin to do his best, in everything. He was nice but firm, understanding but aloof, and Justin adored him. Even if sometimes he was fooled by Alex batting her pretty lashes and her puppy dog eyes, he never actively tried to mess with Justin, unlike some people he knew, which meant the world to him. Her words cut him deep.  
"Justin, I'm-" she tried to apologise after realising what she'd done, but he didn't let her. It was like when they lost Dragon, except infinityfold.

"Forget it." He would have pushed past her and stormed off to take more orders, leaving her to slice salami as a punishment, but he couldn't do that for obvious reasons. As he shook his head and dropped his eyes to the floor, Alex realised something. Something big. Something world-stopping, and earth-shattering...

They hadn't shut the shutters.

Boy, their parents weren't kidding when they said it was awkward to look past the garlic obstructing the view into the countless pairs of eyes staring at them, having heard everything they said. Trying not to let things fall into unsalvageable territory, she peeked her head out, leaned on the metal counter, and grinned.  
"Hey," she said, voice wavering as it did when she used to do it. Scanning quickly, she found the man whose order she had in her hand. She ripped the paper from the pad, read it quickly, then raised it and pointed at him, "Ham, swiss, and turkey on flatbread coming right up."  
"Ham, swiss, and tuna." He corrected, making her look twice at the order to make sure if she was right. She wasn't.

"...Right."

**

They shut the shop down early, having spilt enough condiments and drinks already. Alex didn't know if it was better that they tried, or if it would have been better for them to never have opened that day at all. Regardless, she had felt terrible all day, and now she had the perfect opportunity to discuss it with Justin without the prying eyes and ears of their customers. Not wanting to embarass themselves further (and knowing they were alone), they made a joint decision to apparate upstairs, onto the couch. Once sat, Justin fell down, lying crooked to try and sleep, but Alex knew he couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, in that position. It was now or never.  
"Justin," she started, quieter than she had intended. "I'm sorry about what I said."

He groaned and sat up. "Have I ever said I hate being attached to you?"  
"I know you want to run upstairs now and charm your door so I can't get in, but please just hear me out." She never thought she'd say it, but she was sort of glad they were stuck together now so she could actually finish a sentence without him leaving midway through, meaning she'd have to repeat it later. "I wasn't thinking about what I said. I didn't mean you're not like Dad, because you are. You've got his sense of humour and his lame affinity for baseball, even if you can't play it that well. You're as clever as he was and as loving and as forgiving, and I wouldn't be able to get through without you."

Justin's face shifted multiple times, but he never once opened his mouth. Alex could practically see his brain whirring with responses, and she could only hope she'd receive one somewhere along the line of forgiveness. Even silence was better than him hating her audibly, but that wasn't an option anymore as he began to speak. She braced herself for anything that might come.

"Did you just use the word affinity?"

She could have killed him, right there and then. If there was one thing she didn't plan for, it was that. Still, she knew she couldn't react poorly to that, because it sounded like she was actually forgiven.  
"Pfft," she tried to look as nonchalant as possible, "No I didn't."  
"Uh, yeah, you did." Justin smiled at her, and she hadn't realised how much she missed him smiling at her until he had stopped that day, when everything had started. "Listen."

From seemingly nowhere, Alex heard herself speaking. It was her entire mini-speech she had just gave, from start to finish, and sure enough, she had said 'affinity'. She rolled her eyes, then realised what that meant.  
"Did you record me apologising?"  
He shrugged, "It's nice to hear sometimes. Doesn't happen often, so I've taken to recording it."  
"Oh, you are dead."

She pushed him over, then began jabbing his sides again. Her legs became uncomfortable after a satisfying while (he was laughing, but already begging her to stop at that point, so it was good enough), so she took the time to readjust herself. When she brought her knees all the way to her chest and didn't hear Justin's girlish scream, she looked down and - yes, praise Merlin himself - she had her legs back, and Justin had his, too. Just to be extra sure, she lifted up his knees, and found there were two, completely separate legs there.

"Yes!" She yelled, and Justin, in his cringing state, covered his ears and sat up, looking pained.  
"What?" He looked where she was looking, and yelped himself. "They're back! I have legs! Two of them, my very own!"

Without another word, he took off running, like a fawn who just learned how to walk, upstairs, leaving a relieved Alex in his wake - for one reason or another.

**

The next day was much, much easier. They opened at the usual time, and took orders at least four times as fast. In the morning, Justin sliced up some vegetables and meat, then grated the cheese that didn't come pre-packaged, but soon enough he was on the floor, helping Alex, which made things a whole lot easier. Throughout the day, Alex took the liberty of teasing him, messing up his hair or making a funny - not hurtful - comment as they passed each other. She knew the line now, and that was fine.

About half way through the day, Alex finished up accounting for a mother and her child who had just finished eating, and were paying before leaving. Then, she headed to their table to pick up their plates and drinks, but instead of a smooth journey back to the sink, she felt a tug on her sleeve. When she looked down, she saw an old lady sat down, with no food in front of her. Joining the dots herself, Alex quickly spoke up.  
"Oh, I'm sorry," she apologised, "I'll just pop these in the sink, and I'll come and take your order." She smiled down at her.

"No, you misunderstand," the woman spoke soothingly, drawing Alex in with just her drawl alone. "That nice man already took it. The one with the wide shoulders and kind eyes. Your husband, yes?" Alex opened her mouth, but couldn't protest as the woman went on, "No worries. I wanted to congratulate you, on your love. It's a hard thing to find in this world." The woman smiled an admittedly crooked but nonetheless warm smile, but then Alex didn't see her as she cast her eyes over to Justin, who was bending over to speak to a family, ordering their meal. Her breath definitely did not falter as he smiled brightly at them, probably either trying to make them feel better about their stupid jokes, or one of his. That was Justin, in a nutshell. He was gross.

Still, Alex politely thanked the woman, and muttered a small, "I'm one lucky girl," before nodding at her, then taking the plates to the sink in the back. She stood there for just a minute, regaining something - nothing, because she didn't lose anything. That woman was simply mistaken, and Alex couldn't get a word in edgewise to let her know she was. This was the mantra Alex repeated to herself as she stood, hovering above the sink, before the intrusive of the bell on the metal intermediary counter being pushed startled her. Her heart pounded, and increased more as she found herself looking back as her brother. He wasn't angry, but a little upset that Alex seemed to be avoiding working again.  
"Come on, Alex," was the only thing he said, before he leaned over and picked up a ready-made sandwich, then took off, on his way to the woman's table.

In the same way she had enthralled Alex, she got Justin: she brushed her finger against his shirt, catching his attention as he placed her order before her, and then spoke to him, only this time closer because a group of youths had entered the building. God, now she really was starting to sound like her mother.

When she saw Justin looking back at her, Alex panicked, meeting his eye only briefly before she slipped into the freezer.  
_Now this,_  she thought, _is a foolproof plan._

**

A few nights later, they were back into the swing of things. Sure, as everybody usually was after working their shift, they were tired when they finished, but that was nothing new. Plus, that feeling gradually decreased over time, so when Alex suggested they take an hour or so to go up on the magic carpet they still had in the basement, it wasn't the most bizarre thing in the world to hear. Besides, they both knew how to drive it, so there was no added stress of teaching or learning upon their shoulders. Still, it surprised Alex just a little when, without any empty promises or blackmail, Justin agreed it'd be nice to get up for a while, but she didn't argue. It took no more than ten minutes to locate the carpet, and no more than five minutes on top of that to get it up on to the terrace for Justin to have a look at it. He gave it the all clear, then they clambered on and set off, into the setting sky.

The view was something Alex could paint endlessly about. The varying hues of orange, then pink, then even a little green eventually, just before the sun went down completely drove her inspiration to skyrocket, and she made a mental note to do something with it later, when she had the time. Since she had been home, she hadn't done much painiting, but now she felt there was nothing she wanted to do more than to cast her thoughts away - not away, down - onto a canvas, and now, for the first time in a longer time than she'd care to admit, she felt able to do so.

Currently, though, they were going to fly. Actually, in the time it had taken her to wiggle out of her own brain, they had taken off, with Justin driving and her clutching onto the carpet edge. This was good; she knew he needed this. After the past few days, they both just needed, more than anything, to get into the freshest air they could access (which was much higher for them than it was for others, which helped enormously). The feeling of freedom was so strong, even after only a couple seconds in the air, that Alex couldn't hold back the little noise trapped in her throat - the closest description being a gleeful scream. She beamed and looked around her, waiting for the first star to appear. Alex was far from a sap, but it was never a crime to enjoy the beauty of nature.

Beside her, Justin seemed to be enjoying himself too, maybe even more than she was. He turned the carpet, pressing snugly against the speed limit for their area, and his smile told her he didn't have a care in the world, at least for the time being. She didn't want to interrupt him, but she also didn't want their ride to be entirely silent, and the latter outweighed the former, so she said, "Remember the first time we did this?"

Justin cast a quick look over at her, grinning stupidly. "Yeah."  
"Thanks for that." Her other words were in her throat for some reason, but she supposed that was good enough. Tearing her eyes from her brother for a second to outline the city, she saw the first star appear in the blackness. "Look! Justin, the first star."

Normally she would have despised sounding so juvenile. Normally, she'd have made some distraction after saying something so obvious in such a childish voice, but not tonight. No, tonight, she was enjoying herself, and letting the strenuous boundaries she put up to protect her from people down. If just for a few hours, she would be vulnerable. That's why she returned her gaze to Justin, who had spotted the star in question, and now had a twinkle in his eye. She didn't know where it had come from, but she figured asking would only discourage it, and that she didn't want to do, more than anything. So, she kept her eyes fixed on him, tracing his profile as though he were the buildings on the horizon, jumping a little when he turned around to look at her, too.

It went quiet. Firstly, they sat there, looking at each other. Then, Justin slowed his pace, so he wouldn't hit something in the way. Afterwards, his smile fell - not like he was upset in any way, but more like he'd realised something. Next, Alex stopped breathing and shuffled closer, but then Justin spoke up.  
"Alex."

Not wanting to faint and fall from their carpet, she restarted her lungs, that had apparently broken down at some point. Though she was pretty sure her eyes hadn't closed at any point, she suddenly could see, see him, gazing down at her lips, then switching back up to her eyes. "Alex," he repeated.  
"Yes?" She said, voice breathier than she had anticipated.

He stilled, and the carpet began driving so slowly, she briefly entertained the thought that they would plummet, but she knew Justin wouldn't let that happen. He held her eyes, swapping from her left to her right, then back to her left. "Alex..." he chanted for the third time, like it was an incantation, then, as she felt the speed of the carpet begin to pick up again, he yelled, "Loop de loop!" and they went whirling, swirling, twisting and turning through the city, at a speed so incredible, Alex wasn't sure anybody would be able to see them if they tried.

Alex was a daredevil - a thrill-seeker. She loved trouble, and she loved adrenaline rushes, and this was exactly what that was. And somehow, not that she was complaining or anything, but somehow, it seemed less exciting than... whatever it was she was anticipating. She sighed, and when they got home, she collapsed on the couch, sleeping soundly within seconds. In her stupour, she decided that vulnerability wasn't as fantastic as everybody made it out to be after all.

**

A month after the shop was handed over to them, Alex had the bright idea of going out to eat somewhere that sold anything but meat and salad on bread. That's how they ended up down the street, in some Mexican foodplace (oh, how their mother would be proud), after raiding their till, ordering from a menu that they couldn't read half of. Well, Alex couldn't. Apparently Justin had listened just enough in Spanish class to know what 'zanahorias' and 'patatas' were, and what 'con cordero' meant, so he translated it for her, and she was fine with eating that. They bought a water for the table and two cokes, because they were classy. With better (nicer, faster) service than could be expected from the Waverly Sub Station (when Alex was the primary waiter), they got their food promptly, and were done eating by 7:30-ish. As soon as they stepped out of the door, Alex let out a rather unladylike belch (so their mother wouldn't be unevenly proud of her), earning a rating from Justin of a six, and a couple of dirty looks from passers-by. Whatever.

Seeing as it was just down the street, there was virtually no time taken getting home, and as soon as they were up the painful stairs, Alex flopped onto the couch ungracefully, kicking her shoes off after she found a comfy spot. Oh well, Justin didn't seem to mind, as he sat on the armchair and stared into space for a beat, then pulled out his phone and began scrolling through it mindlessly. Eh, it was good enough for her. In its own strange way, it reminded her of her parents, on their anniversary. Undoubtedly, her mother was a romantic, and her father too, occasionally. They went out dancing and to see people, and when they got back from _t_ _hose_  dates, it mattered what happened afterwards. Just because the date was over, didn't mean it was over. Peak performance was expected, and roses were preferred. However, on their anniversary dinners, they dressed up, went out, and then their parents came home, and - much like how she had done, but perhaps in a different manner - her mother would lie down on the couch to rest, while their father would busy himself with a variety of things, none of them required to please their mother. Then--

"What are you doing?"  
Justin looked up at her from the seat he had taken on the arm of the couch and replied, "Giving you a footrub."  
Was he in her head? How did he know what she was thinking about? This was weird. Still, she didn't move away. "Why?"  
"You said your feet were hurting." He said, shrugging, "It's probably those ridiculous shoes you wear to work."  
She put on her best offended face, though she was really too worn out to care what he said. "They're called wedges."  
"Hm, weird. I think a better name is foot-sole-and-ankle-breakers."  
"Catchy."

He grinned at her, and she let her head fall back onto the colourful pillow. If Justin was incessant he'd give her a footrub, surely the least she could do was stay still and enjoy it? Besides, he wasn't half bad, when she let herself relax into it. Soon enough (too soon), she felt sleep threaten her, which was when she knew it was time for bed.

"I'm going to bed." She said, yawning as she did so.  
Justin nodded, letting go of her feet, placing them gently back on the edge of the seat, enabling her to curl, then unfurl them. "Good idea."

She stood slowly, smiling without meaning to, then stretched, heading over to the stairs, telling herself she'd tidy up her shoes in the morning. Rubbing her eye, she barely noticed the telltale sounds of her brother coming behind her, obviously heading for his own bedroom to sleep. Perhaps sleep was contagious, and she'd given it to him through her feet. Now, it was in sleepy times like these that she decidedly _didn't_  have the best ideas of her lifetime, but still, she enjoyed them no less. Once at the top of the stairs (and, coincidentally, the midpoint of their two rooms), she turned around, nearly bumping into him as she did so.  
"Well, goodnight." She managed, looking up at him through bleary, sleep-ridden eyes.

Justin was quiet, until he said, voice a whisper, which she pinned down to him being as tired as she was, "Night."  
She absentmindedly reached out for him, drawing him in for a hug easily enough. He stiffened unusually at the touch in the beginning, but then relaxed into it, letting his head rest dozily on the top of hers. A minute later, she drew back, then smiled at him once more, before turning and heading for her room.

Behind her, she heard no movement. A little confused but not worried, she kept moving, until the creaky floorboards started up, ridiculously loudly, like they did when she and Max used to run when Justin figured out they had messed around with his daily dental routine somehow. Before it could transmit in her exhausted brain, she heard Justin utter a quick, 'Alex, wait,', and then felt his hand grasp her arm gently, but firmly. He span her around like a ragdoll, with her linguid body more malleable than ever, then the world stopped spinning. Well, okay, maybe it didn't, but it felt like that to him, and a little to her. She looked up at him, raising an eyebrow in questioning, but then soon found her answer, when he leaned down and kissed her.

So maybe it wasn't quite right. Maybe she should have pushed him away and told him to go to bed, but maybe it was just what she needed, because when the kiss broke apart, she felt more awake than she ever had. She looked up at him through thick eyelashes, then batted them and took his hands.  
"Justin," she started, only to be cut off by his ramblings.

"I'm so sorry, Alex." he slipped his hands out of hers, clearly not registering what that meant in the first place. "I don't even know why I- oh, this is bad. This is really, really bad."  
"Justin." She said, like it was more of a fact, and not a name.  
He refused to shut up. "I get if you want to go home, and never talk to me again. I'll be the one to miss family reunions, so you can still speak to Kelbo, and Max - oh god, Max! What's he going to think about me now?"

She sighed, shutting out his words now, and flung her arms around his shoulders, trapping his head and making it so his vision could only be on her. Then, this time, she initiated the kiss, making sure it was slower, more purposeful than the last one (though she wasn't going to be the one to complain, ever. No way, José.) It took a hot minute, but he eventually calmed down, beginning to reciprocate the kiss. Just as he brought his hands to cup her chin, she realised how seriously out of oxygen she was becoming, so she forced herself to retreat to retrieve some more. She didn't dare waste one more _second_ , not wanting to let him continue on his whirlwind apology.

"Justin," she started, smirking up at him, "don't go back to your room tonight."

**

The night before Max came back, Alex lay in her bed, feeling comforted by the slow rising and falling of the blanket beside her, where her brother lay sleeping. At least she thought he was, because she hadn't looked at him at nighttime for a while, because they had't discussed what they'd done, which meant she was left wondering if Justin regretted it. For weeks she'd been dwelling on it, imagining never having done anything, and how their six weeks would have went had she not kissed him back. Probably more awkward. But that wasn't why she'd kissed him! She didn't care about other people's feelings, after all. Gross. No, she'd kissed him because she'd... wanted to? Now that was what confused her the most. Feeling her brother's - her _brother's_  - hands around her like that, not trying to annoy her or shout at her 'privately', vexed, made her feel some type of way. He's skimmed his hands all over her, and she wanted more. No - needed, like an addiction she'd have to work her entire life to satisfy. Heavily, she exhaled, then turned to sleep on her right side, so she could study Justin's face.

Once she'd flipped, she found herself looking into almost wide-awake eyes, that only seemed to grow when they saw her looking at him.  
"Alex," his voice wasn't so much panicked as it was marginally nervous, having been caught. Or something.  
"Justin," she huffed again, deciding it wasn't worth losing sleep over, when the resolution was so simple, "What are we?"

Oh. Well. That hadn't been what she'd meant to say. Now, she sounded like that typical one-night-stand girl-whose-name-I-forgot in every movie she'd seen of that nature. _'What are we?'_  the thought, swallowing as she watched Justin's face shift, _This is going to go well._

Apparently lost for words, Justin said nothing. Only, he kind of did, when he slid his leg forwards, stopping once their thighs hit each other. For a second, she was confused, but then not. She knew what he was saying, without him saying anything at all. _'We're stuck together, forever. By choice, this time.'_

She let out a half-snort, then shifted how she sat. Instead of laying beside Justin, she moved - taking the blanket with her, because damn, it had been getting cold lately - to sit atop of him, looking down into his eyes, her legs spread onto the outsides of his. She sat, giving him enough time to push her away and reject her however he so wished, but he didn't, so she came to rest on him, hands splayed out on his chest and fingers roaming, the blanket encasing the two of them in a warm embrace. Quiet time passed, never once feeling uncomfortable, until Justin ran his hands up her back, trailing her spine, and pushed her closer to him, strategically using his feet. As it always did, his breathing managed to fall so much that it sounded like he'd stopped entirely, and Alex couldn't quite shake the thought that he had. It took just a moment for their eyes to delve into the other's soul, before he leaned forward purposefully and kissed her.

It wasn't like their last. Well, their many lasts, but they were all similar anyway: tongues, teeth scraping, nails running along skin in the mean time. No, there was none of that now. It was like the dancing of their lips was trying to tell her something, something he couldn't quite convey, so he let her go, looking a little scared of what he was going to say next.  
"Alex, I..." now she was nervous. Was this the rejection? "I... love you." Okay, so no. Phew.  
"Justin-" she somehow found her voice, "I love you too, you big dork."  
He shook his head, like she didn't understand. "No, Alex- I'm _in love_ with you."  
Sarcastically, she rolled her eyes, but stopped pulling whatever face she was pulling when she saw the fear on his features. "That's what I meant."

She felt his entire body relax beneath her, falling even deeper into the mattress, and then - _o_ _h_ , his hands were back, brushing her exposed skin, and that, right there, in that moment, was her type of heaven.

**

"So how was the shop while I was gone?" Max said excitedly, pulling down tables and chairs, already setting up for the day. Man, he really did love this place.  
"It was well looked after! And we only used magic like, three times." Justin kicked her, "Okay, maybe two." This time, he delivered a kick that was twice as hard as the last, making her crack a smile and correct herself yet again, "No magic was used. None at all. In fact, don't even look in the lair, because no books were moved. At all."

That seemed to be enough for Justin, who leaned back against the counter, sneakily putting his arm half way around her, then grinned sincerely over at Max, who shook his head, choosing to ignore whatever schenanigans his siblings got up to while he was away, which was better for him than he could have imagined. He started talking about his truly fascinating adventures, but Justin couldn't help but look at Alex, who was looking back at him in turn. They shared a look, and a smile, then turned back to their brother in sync. Apparently, he was done, because he took his turn of asking another question.  
"What did you two get up to here?"

So Justin wasn't sure how to tell Max, let alone when, let alone if ever. Right now, there were only two things on his mind: how to learn to do things one day at a time, how to spend more time away from WizTech, and... well, you already know the other one.


End file.
